PSP BRANCH ~ New Year, New Peer

New Year, New Peer: A BRANCH Fireside Chat with Tonya Wheeler

Start the new year by getting loud about what peer work is really for.

For December’s BRANCH, New Year, New Peer, we are featuring Tonya Wheeler, Executive Director of Advocates for Recovery Colorado, in a live fireside chat on the peer movement, the CPFS credential, and what it looks like to protect the soul of peer support in Colorado.

Tonya has spent her career working to set an example of authentic peer work, peer movement, and advocacy. Her vision is unapologetic:

• Free services for all
• Built to be not self-serving and for the entire community
• Focused on people, not polished optics

Most importantly, Tonya keeps the spotlight where it belongs:

“This is not about AFRC. This is about the larger recovery community across Colorado.”

This BRANCH gathering is about coming together to put a face and a voice on recovery. It is a space for peers, CPFSs, supervisors, and allies to get real about what we are building, what we refuse to compromise on, and how we move as a unified workforce.

We will dig into:

• What “authentic peer work” looks like when systems pressure you to water it down
• How the CPFS role can shift culture inside organizations and across Colorado
• Why free, accessible, community-rooted services are non-negotiable
• How we sustain ourselves and each other as a growing peer workforce

Whether you are already certified, in training, supervising peers, or just peer-curious, this event is a chance to reconnect with your “why,” meet others who share it, and step into the new year with a stronger sense of collective power.

New Year. New Peer. Same mission: a recovery community where all of us belong.